Chronicles of Gospel Chapter 1
by Gospel-kitty
Summary: The first male Mithra the venture into Vana'diel. Follow the life and experiences of Gospel as he discovers both the light and dark side of the adventurers of Vana'diel.


Chronicles of Gospel

**1**

- The Birth of the Mithra Mercenary –

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Target name: Snyper. Target class: Hume – Male. Target job: Ranger. Mission objectives: Hunt and retrieve target, dead or alive, for committing various crimes that go against the laws of Vana'diel including murder, arson and evading GM's.

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The bullet hit the rock, sending small fragments falling onto my head. The Ranger had me pinned here. I looked around frantically for something, anything that could improve my situation. I could see now just how this Ranger had become so infamous in Vana'diel, tactful, intelligent and one of the best marksman in the world. I have been reduced to seeking refuge behind the terrain. This was my first proper job given to me by the GM's of Vana'diel. I guessed they wouldn't have started me out on such a dangerous target. I underestimated the skills of Snyper, one wrong move and I would certainly meet my death at the gun of this Hume. But this is the life I have been yearning for ever since I can remember. Crouched behind my rock I couldn't stop my mind from going over my boring days back in the hidden village of the Mithras and how I ended up in this situation.

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Not too long ago I was practically kept prisoner in my home village. Just like every other Mithra who was born male. My mother had named me Gospel because when I was a kitten I was so pure of heart. I showed many natural talents at a very young age. My parents knew I deserved a life outside this village, to let me go to places where my talents wouldn't go to waste. They pleaded with the Mithran chieftain to pardon me and let me into the world, unfortunately to no avail. So I was stuck there with all the other males destined to live the life of a male Mithra. It was our duty to remain locked away and become the maintainers of our society and our species. Keeping our homes in good wear, raising the female kittens until they could venture out into the vast world of Vana'diel to become adventurers and telling the male kittens that they could never leave the guarded walls of our village. It was not an easy life being a male Mithra. I, like many other males, dreamt of one day breaking free of this place and returning to the world. However I don't think many other males wanted it as much as myself.

I spent months and years staring at the great walls surrounding our village, devising a plan to one day break through and witness the wonders Vana'diel has to offer. I trained in secret everyday, mastering many skills, with the use of various weapons, spells and marksmanship. After some time, the day came when I was ready. Everything was planned, I would subdue one of the guards in the darkest of night make my way over the walls and into the many majestic things in the outside world. That fateful night, two months ago now, was simply the beginning of my adventure. Gospel's adventure. Everything went to plan, I managed to take down a guard with a carefully aimed dart I had poisoned with a sleeping potion and made my way over the wall. Even with all my strict agility training the climb was still very difficult. After a few minutes I emerged at the top of the wall. I retrieved the dart so no one would get suspicious and think the guard simply fell asleep on duty.

My first view of the world outside. An immense view of a luscious green forest with the glimmers of moonlight reflecting from the surface of the ocean over the horizon. That image has been solidly grafted into my mind, nothing I had experienced would ever compare to this. After a few minutes I had remembered I hadn't just done all this for the view. Getting down the other side was easier than I expected. Large trees grew very close to the wall and I easily bounded down them to the soft earth below. I smiled to myself, a smile of happiness and content, everything was going to plan so well. But after this point my plans were only vague, I had never been outside the walls and had no idea where to go.

It took a few moments to realize that there must have been a path leading from the front gate of the village. Even though I wasn't too sure where it led, it was my best hope. I tracked around the edge of the village walls, concealing myself in the trees to avoid being spotted by the other guards on the wall. Nearly an hour after I set out on my task did I stumble across the path. I thought it would be quite majestic, a symbolic road that indicated the start of my great journey into Vana'diel, I almost half expected it to glow. I almost didn't notice the small, tired old dirt footpath that was the real road. Hardly a path at all really, it was heavily overgrown and it looked as though I would have to cut my way through a fair portion of it. I smiled happily, thanking Altana that I had decided to bring a short sword. I unsheathed it and marveled at it in the speckled moonlight that filtered through the trees. I had taken it from the village blacksmiths only a few days before. It was well hidden and covered in a layer of dust, so I assumed not many people knew it was there or it had ever been used. As I looked into it now, it gleamed in the moonlight and had a faint glow around the blade. The craftsmanship within the blade was of very great detail. I felt confident that this sword would be of great use to me in the outside world and I could rely on it to serve me well.

I turned to get one last look at the village, wondering if I would ever return here, wondering what would happen if I was caught. It's not every day that a male Mithra is seen roaming around freely. But I decided to deal with that problem when I came to it. I took a deep breath and turned back to face the path and my next task. A thought crossed my mind that this path might have the purpose of testing those who leave the village, to prove their worth here in Vana'diel as an adventurer. With that thought in mind I proceeded into the dense forest.

It was tough going. The sword proved its worth, cutting through the vegetation easily. It took what seemed like forever until I finally emerged into a small clearing. I guess small was a bit of an over statement. You could probably only fit about 10 chocobo's in this space. But compared to the path I had just emerged from it was like a field. I immediately saw a problem. Not only did the path continue from the other side of the clearing, but there was also two other paths leading out from the right and left sides. I decided to take a well deserved break while I decided what my next course of action would be. I sat against a tree near the path I had just emerged from. I tried desperately to see through the foliage to give me some idea of which way to go, but it was just too thick. After about five minutes of straining my eyes I let out a sigh and gave up. I enjoyed my surroundings for all that they were worth. Which seemed to be a lot since this is the first time I've ever left the village.

My rest was interrupted suddenly as a scream, carried by the wind, reached my clearing. I jumped up quickly, having no idea where it came from, I strained my ears trying to hear another sound. Not long after I heard what sounded like a roar. It was a spine tingling sound that was almost immediately followed by another scream. It came from my right. So with sword ready I took off down the right path and ran as fast as I could towards the sounds. Branches and leaves slapped my face and body fiercely as I rushed past them. The screams kept getting louder as I ran. As I got closer I could tell that the screams were coming from more than one person. I could guess about 5 or maybe 6 and also what sounded what could only be said was a monster which was roaring occasionally.

I suddenly burst out of the forest into another clearing. The sight that greeted me was horrifying. A huge creature was occupying about half the area and was surrounded by 6 people, a couple of which looked like kids. The creature gave out another spine tingling roar as it took a swing at one of the children. She fell to the ground screaming in obvious pain. One of the adults noticed my presence and obviously my sword. He called out desperately for my help. I had never been in a real fight before and against a creature this size… I felt paralyzed by its presence. The adult called out again for my help. I looked down at the sword in my hand, wondering how such a small thing could help against a gigantic monster, but I saw something quite different. The sword had started glowing stronger. It looked as though nothing was going to deter this sword away from its destiny. The destiny to help these poor people. I looked back at the creature with a new determination. The monster was incredibly tall, its head was just below the tree tops… The tree tops! Without giving it a second thought I quickly scaled a tree not too far from the beast. From the top I could see the situation, there were four adults and what seemed to be two children. One of the adults and one child had fallen in the battle and were lying in immense pain on the ground. The others were desperately trying to protect their friends and fend off their enemy in desperate need of help.

I leaped into the action. Just one flex of my legs and I found myself hovering above the hideous thing for a moment before beginning to fall down upon it. I was incredibly lucky it hadn't noticed me yet or this may have been a suicide leap. Too late to think about that now as I readied my sword for the strike. I thrust forward with all my strength, aiming my sword carefully to pierce the creatures' skull. My sword gave a brilliant flash of light as it hit and penetrated the skull. A splash of blood splattered on me as the sword found its final resting place buried deep inside the creatures head. A sudden silence fell upon the clearing as time seemed to almost freeze with me standing perched on this giants shoulder with my sword dealing fatal damage to the creature. I could see the glow disappear from what left I could see of the sword. With that, I pulled it out with what was probably the most disgusting sound I would ever hear to break the silence. The giant began to fall forwards as I leapt elegantly into the nearby trees and made my way back to the ground. An almighty thud came as the earth shook from the impact of its body.

I pounced down from the trees and approached the party. The fallen adult and child were being tended to by two of the others while the adult who called for my help and the other child stared amazingly at me, their mouths open in awe. I suddenly realized that they probably haven't seen a male Mithra before.

"I am Gospel of the Mithra clan. Please don't be afraid, I mean you no harm." I introduced myself to them.

The adult remained there, staring at me. The child stepped forward and introduced himself as well as his friends.

"I am Jet of the Tarutaru's, my friend here is Kage of the Humes and behind us is the rest of our party. The injured ones are Cutaru of the Tarutaru's and Lynx of the Mithra."

I almost kicked myself for not noticing the Mithra in their group. I guess I was too preoccupied with the giant. I took a look at Lynx and saw her sitting up slowly along with the Tarutaru. I was happy they were ok. Lynx was a childhood friend of mine but she left the village a long time ago now. I was happy to see she had become an adventurer, she would talk for hours about what she would do once she got out of the village. It made me so jealous. Jet went on and introduced the two people assisting the injured.

"Helping Lynx is the Elvaan, Zone and with Cutaru is my wife Anj also of the Humes."

"Wife!" I said in amazement. "But you're just a child."

Jet laughed. "I may look like a child Gospel but I am actually 26 years old. We Tarutaru's don't grow much taller than this. Is this the first time ever meeting a Taru?"

"Yes, this is my first time out of our village. Males aren't allowed out so I have only ever seen or known Mithra's"

"I understand. We have all heard rumors about the male Mithras and their confinement to their hometown. I thought I would never see one in my lifetime. Most people in the world would think that." Jet replied.

Kage nodded at that comment, still too stunned to say anything. I couldn't tell if he was stunned by seeing me or the fight against the giant. Cutaru and Lynx were on their feet now and were making their way over towards us with Zone and Anj. As soon as Lynx saw me she practically pounced on me with a newfound strength. I was amazed at her recovery from the injuries. I fell back onto the ground as she jumped on me. She then proceeded to hug me and lick my face.

"Gospel! I thought I'd never get too see you again!" She proclaimed. "They have shut the path to our home so it's impossible to get back. That's why we adventurers have never come back, but we want to so desperately. We miss you all."

"I'm happy too see you too Lynx." I said as I struggled to sit up.

"What are you doing outside the village Gos? Did you escape? You always said you wanted to get out of there. You're going to get into trouble." Lynx said quickly.

I smiled, "You haven't changed a bit kitten, still as hyperactive as ever."

"Ha-ha 'kitten' it's been a while since I've been called that. But don't avoid my question Gos." She pouted.

Everybody seemed interested with the answer to that. So I might as well tell them all.

"Well, I've be-." I suddenly got cut off as a voice from behind me called out.

"Don't move anyone!

We all turned to see a heavily armored Hume standing near the end of the clearing.

"It's not safe here!" He yelled, "There have been reports of a Notorious Monster…"

He trailed off. I could see that he had just noticed the body of the giant on the ground. He moved forward to inspect it.

Lynx whispered in my ear, "This isn't good Gospel. He's a GM. They have been given the task to keep order in the world. They know you aren't supposed to be out."

"Who killed it?" Asked the GM as he inspected the killing wound I made to the head.

I began to step forward but Lynx grabbed my hand. I looked at her and smiled. I whispered to her, "I'm sorry, but I have to."

She squeezed my hand as I stepped forward.

"I killed the creature." I stated.

The GM stood and turned to face me. As soon as he saw me his expression changed. His eyes widened, his mouth went tight and his eyes focused in on me. It was like he didn't know what to do or didn't believe that I could have killed the creature. After a minute he noticed the sword in my hand, still covered in the blood of the giant. I looked at the others. They were all staring at their feet. I knew I was in trouble but I didn't want them to get in trouble too. I began to say something but was interrupted by the GM.

"You six, you are free to go. Please forget what you have seen here."

Lynx grabbed my free hand with hers. I saw the GM looking stern at her. I looked at her and shook my head to her. Then I noticed she had slipped me a sheet of paper. She took one last look at me and headed for the exit of the clearing with the others. They all looked back one last time as if to say goodbye to me. I smiled to them before turning back to face the GM and my fate. He waited a moment before talking.

"It's not everyday a male Mithra is seen outside their village. I'm sure you know that fact. I must thank you for taking care of this Notorious Monster. It has been causing a lot of trouble for the nearby town and many adventurers. But I cannot overlook the fact that you have broken rules and left your village. I must ask you to accompany me to our headquarters."

I nodded quietly.

"Thank you, now please follow me." He said sternly.

I wiped my sword clean on a rag he threw to me and replaced it in its sheath. The GM then headed for the clearing exit. I followed quietly. While I was following him I managed to sneak a peek at the paper Lynx gave me. It contained her contact details. I hoped that I would be able to use them. I didn't know what to expect once we got to where this GM was taking me. He didn't seem to know either. He looked deep in thought. I even tried to ask him where we were going but it was like he couldn't hear me.

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The next turn of events was something I couldn't even imagine. We had finally arrived at the GM headquarters, passing through some heavily guarded doors on the way. I could tell that not many regular people had ever been in here. Every guard that opened the doors for us took a long look at me as I passed through. I could feel the panic rising inside me. Was leaving the village such a bad thing to do? What would my punishment be? Would my actions be held against the rest of the male Mithras? I guess all these questions would be answered soon.

Finally we arrived to what looked like an office. There was a desk with a lot of paperwork on it and a female Hume sitting behind it. She also took a long look at me. I wondered if even these people had ever seen a male Mithra. The GM escorting me told me to sit in one of the chairs near the door as he proceeded into another room. I caught a glimpse of what looked like a conference room. There was at least 5 other people in there sitting at the table arguing. The door closed and all sound from the room was stopped from reaching my ears. I sat there with my head in my hands as I began to panic. What if they decided to have me killed? A little harsh, but at the time only the worst thoughts were going through my mind. After a few minutes the door to the outside world opened and a Mithra walked in. It took me a second to realize it was the Mithra Chieftain. She looked very serious and only took a quick glance at me as she joined the others in the conference room. I sat there, unmoving, thinking about everything that had happened over the last few hours. The breakout from the village, the awe-inspiring sight of the ocean and the jungle, the trek down the overgrown path, killing that creature and meeting a Tarutaru, a Hume and an Elvaan for the first time. The already seemed like distant memories, like they happened years ago.

Before I knew it, two hours had passed of me sitting in that room before the GM that escorted me emerged from the room and called me inside. I almost stumbled as I stood up. My fate was only a few meters away and I was still only thinking the worst. As I entered the room I saw ten people, obviously all GM's, sitting around the large table and the Mithra Chieftain was standing in the corner staring out the window. She was the only one who didn't look at me as I entered. It was a terrifying feeling as I was lead to the front of the room and forced to stand in front of everyone. Ten masters of the world all of them staring at me, unblinking, with very serious looks on their faces. I stood there, waiting to hear my fate.

There was nothing but total silence for about three minutes. I looked around the room at the many faces that stared back at me. There were seven males and three females sitting at the table. Some Hume, some Elvaan, some Tarutaru and a single large bulking male of a race I had not yet encountered before. The only Mithra was the Chieftain who still had her back turned to me. It was her who finally broke the silence.

"Gospel, Mithra, Male, Age 25. You have violated the rules of the Mithra and left the village of your birth. You then proceeded to encounter others and engage in battle against a Notorious Monster with the sword of Kiba that I have to assume was taken from the village."

I had no idea that this sword had a name. But I simply nodded to her explanation.

She continued, "I have just finished explaining to the GM's here about your past, the fact that you have been blessed with many talents that a Mithra is only endowed with once every couple of hundred years handed down from a legendary Mithra. Your parents came to me a couple of years ago to plead with me to allow you access to the outside world. I was inclined to disapprove this request in order to uphold the ways of the Mithra."

I was beginning to get confused. 'Talents that a Mithra only gets every couple of hundred years'. I had never heard of such a legend.

She pressed on, "For the longest time I doubted that you had gained such talents. But your recent actions have proved me wrong. However, because of your recent actions in leaving the village, you must receive the consequences of your actions."

My heart sank. For a moment I felt as though they forgot about that.

"I understand." I finally replied, letting my head fall forward to look at my feet.

"The GM's have discussed many actions to take. Their final decision has been approved by everyone here including myself. I believe it should please you as well Gospel as they are allowing you access to Vana'diel in return for your services."

I lifted my head quickly to see the Chieftain smiling at me. I stood there shocked as a Hume male GM stood up to speak.

"I will take it from here. Thank you everybody, you may return to your duties. Dismissed."

Everybody got up and left the room. I took one last look at the Chieftain as she left the room. She gave me another quick smile and pointed to the waiting room signaling that she would be waiting there for me. With that, the room was empty as the doors closed.

"Gospel, what you just heard was true. We have decided to grant you unlimited access to anywhere in Vana'diel as long as you accept our terms."

I was still too shocked to do anything but nod.

"What we request of you is to become a mercenary of the GM's. For you see, even though we are masters of the world we are still bound by its rules. We are not allowed to interfere with other members of the world, the progress of the cities or anything like that. Recently there have been occurrences of adventurers getting into a life of crime. Most have been very small incidents like stealing from shops, but some reports have come in where adventurers have murdered others or are plotting organized crime."

The shocks just kept coming I thought to myself. Murder! Why am I being told this?

He continued, "It is true that we can't directly interfere with these occurrences because it will cause chaos if people think we are trying to take over the world too. GM's aren't overly liked in Vana'diel already. But we do have to power to exempt people like you to 'police' the world for us. Of course you will be paid for your services so you can make a healthy living for yourself in Vana'diel. You will also be given equipment and items that will be useful for your tasks. So Gospel, I ask you on behalf of the GM's of Vana'diel. Will you become our mercenary?"

We stood in silence for a few minutes while I tried to convince my mouth to move.

"Why me?" I finally managed to say.

"There are a few reasons for that. First of all, just like your Chieftain said, you have been blessed with the talents of a legendary Mithra. But also, because you haven't been subject to the rules of Vana'diel, you have the natural ability to not be confined to a specific job. You are the only adventurer who is able to do anything without the confines of a job. You can learn spells, handle any weapon, have great marksman skills and wear any equipment."

All these thoughts racing through my mind. I realized that he was right when he said I have no job confinements. But I still doubted that I had legendary talents.

After another short silence I managed to say, "You just called me an adventurer."

"That's right Gospel. If you decide to accept our offer you will officially become an adventurer of Vana'diel. So what is your answer?"

"Of course." I replied immediately.

He smiled. "Glad to hear it. Welcome to the world of Vana'diel, Gospel the adventurer."

I couldn't hide my smile. I never thought it would feel so good to be called an adventurer.

"Your Chieftain is waiting outside. She has everything you need and she also has your first job."

"You're giving me a job already?"

"Yes, we have had some trouble with a ranger lately and we feel it would be a good test for you."

"I see. Well thank you so much for letting me become an adventurer. I will not let you down for this."

"Your Chieftain has faith in you and that faith has spread to the GM's. I set you to your task now Gospel. Godspeed."

The GM saluted me. So I saluted back and headed for the door. The Chieftain was there waiting for me, smiling. She could see me smiling and I could tell she knew I had agreed to the GM's conditions. She came over and patted me on the head.

"Congratulations Gospel. I'm eternally sorry for not trusting your parents. They were so adamant about you having the legendary talents but I didn't believe them. I should have given you the test to make sure.

"Test… What test?" I asked.

"You see that sword of yours. It belonged to the legendary Kiba hence the name 'Sword of Kiba'. Only the Mithra who has inherited the talents of Kiba may wield that sword. But you are the first male to ever inherit those talents. That's why I didn't believe your parents because up till now I believed that only female Mithra could become Kiba's successor."

I took the sword out and looked at it again. As soon as I drew it the blade gained a slight glow again.

"There, you see. The glow is proof that you have indeed gained the talents of Kiba." The Chieftain said.

I put the sword away and turned back to the Chieftain.

"I was told you had some things for me."

"Oh yes," she replied.

She handed me a large package. Inside I found seven blue crystals. I picked them up to look at them.

"Those are telepoint crystals. They will allow you to teleport to any of the six crags around Vana'diel." She explained.

"But there are seven crystals here."

"The seventh one is special. Only a select few have them. It will allow you to return here to meet with the GM's about jobs and to report back when you have completed them. So if a GM ever summons you, you are able to get here quickly. Plus it allows you to bring anyone you are very close to here as well. But only use that function to return with people the GM's have asked you to."

I set the crystals aside and looked through the other contents of the package. I found some equipment, armor and accessories. I put them on immediately; the armor had storage packs so I put the crystals inside one of them. I also found some magic scrolls in the package; the seven teleport scrolls: Dem, Holla, Mea, Altep, Yhoat, Vahzl and Master, some healing scrolls, black magic scrolls, and a scroll of warp. I took the opportunity to learn all of them immediately. The Chieftain patiently sorted through the rest of the package while I did that. Once I finished learning the spells I looked back over what was left. There was some food, a bow and some arrows and a map of Vana'diel. Finally, once I had found a place for everything, the chieftain handed me a piece of parchment with instructions on it. I read them carefully.

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Target name: Snyper. Target class: Hume – Male. Target job: Ranger. Mission objectives: Hunt and retrieve target, dead or alive, for committing various crimes that go against the laws of Vana'diel including murder, arson and evading GM's.

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The Chieftain then spoke up. "We have heard very recent reports of

Snyper causing a bit of trouble in a rocky outcrop in Buburimu Peninsula. The GM's gave me a special teleporting item that can take you straight to that outpost."

She handed me small crystal.

"Please speak to the outpost guards to set you Home Point at the outpost just in case things don't go too well. There is no time to waste, best of luck on your task Gospel. Once you have completed the mission return back here. I will be informed of the outcome and come to visit you again."

"It says on the instructions 'dead or alive'. Can you just clarify that for me?" I said.

"It means you are to stop him and bring him here by whatever means necessary. I know it may sound harsh but if you can bring him back alive then by all means, do it. Just be careful out there Gospel because once he finds out that you're hunting him I don't think he'll mind killing you."

"Some test." I pouted.

"Nobody said it would be easy. But no one is more suited to this task than you with your abilities. Good luck Gospel. Believe in your abilities and instincts."

With that she petted me once more on my head and left. I looked down at the crystal in my hand. I took a deep breath and uttered the inscription on it. Suddenly the whole room was filled with a rich green light as the crystal activated. A few seconds later the green light created a sort of vortex around me and I was taken inside. Moments later I found myself standing in front of an old building in the middle of a very rocky outcrop. It was extremely hot in the early morning sun. The dust and rocks around made it feel like a desert of some sort. Even though I had no sleep the previous night because of all the excitement I was very alert. I remembered what the Chieftain had recommended and approached the outpost guards. They seemed a little shock to see a male Mithra but allowed me to set my home point here.

"Have you seen a ranger by the name of Snyper around here lately?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No but we have received reports he is around here somewhere, hiding in these rocks, but no sightings."

I nodded, turned towards the rocks, drew my sword which gave its usual glow and headed into the rocks behind the outpost. The sooner I get this done, the sooner I can enjoy Vana'diel. That was the only thing I was thinking.

It didn't take long to find Snyper. Or it didn't take long for Snyper to find me. As I was combing the rocks for any signs of him I heard a definite gunshot. It sounded very close but it must have been a warning shot because nothing around me was hit. I looked in the direction of the shot to see a Hume holding a gun aimed squarely at me.

"The next one is coming right at you if you don't leave now!" He shouted

"You must be Snyper!" I shouted back.

"Ah, I see I have a reputation now. I hope it doesn't underestimate me!"

He took a shot. I was lucky to jump behind a nearby rock as the bullet hit the ground where I was standing. Crouched behind my rock I could hear him laughing. I decided to try again to talk to him.

"Snyper! Stop doing these things or I will be forced to take you down!"

"Aha! You're a bounty hunter! Ha-ha. Just try and take me down. It'll be fun!"

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So here I am, a brand new adventurer to Vana'diel and I already find myself in a tough situation. This rock the only think protecting me from the bullets of this ranger and even it's taking a pounding. He has already shot it about 15 times, each time sending fragments falling down onto me. Snyper won't stop laughing. At least I could always tell where he was from his laughing. I had to think of something. If I pop my head out to try and shoot him with the bow and arrows I wouldn't have time to get a shot off. If I tried to run at him with the sword I wouldn't make it halfway before taking a bullet. I have to get behind him somehow… But how? He had picked a perfect spot to pin me down. I had no means of attack. I looked around desperately for options. Nothing I could see would be of any help, just a couple of rocks for cover. Then suddenly I remembered the outpost. If I could get him closer to the outpost I might be able to sneak behind him. I just had to hope he'd follow me.

Without a second thought, I ran. I popped out into the open to let him see me running. He took a shot that I heard whiz past my head as I jumped back behind cover.

"You won't get away from me bounty hunter!" I heard him shout from behind me. I smiled. He fell for it. I ran again until I could see the outpost and took cover behind another rock. I could hear him running behind me. He instantly knew my hiding place and took a shot at the rock to prove it. More fragments of rock fell around me. I looked over to the outpost. It was about 50 meters away and I was looking at the back of it. The rocks here were much closer together which would provide sufficient cover for my plan.

I took out my bow and placed it on the ground. I let a very small fragment of it show from behind the rock so he would think I was still here. I knew that if I ran to any other rock he wouldn't fall for the bow because he'd see me run. But that wasn't the plan, he wouldn't see anything. I closed my eyes and gained focus. I began a chant I had memorized from a scroll just a short time ago. I was lucky I had picked a rather large rock to take cover behind because some magic aura began to manifest around me. The rock was big enough to make sure Snyper didn't see it. Once the spell was finished a small black vortex opened up and took me in. Moments later I was in front of the outpost. I silently thanked the Chieftain for her advice.

I crept around the side of the outpost. I could tell my plan had worked as I still heard Snyper shooting and laughing to himself. This was what I had hoped for. I moved some distance away from the outpost and began to circle behind Snyper's position. After about two minutes I was about 10 meters away behind him. He still hadn't noticed I'd moved. I guess my bow distraction had worked well. I saw him aiming again, I took action. I bounded from my position behind him and pounced at him. He barely had time to turn around and notice what was going on before I was on top of him. I had managed to grab him from behind and now held him there with my sword to his neck. His eyes widened as the blade of my sword began to glow much brighter.

"Drop your weapon Snyper. I won't ask you again!" I yelled in his ear.

He complied after a moment. He still didn't take his eyes off the sword, which seemed to glow brighter with every passing second.

"What… are… you..?" he finally managed to utter under his breath.

"I am Gospel, a male Mithra from the Mithran village. I have been given the task of hunting you down and bringing you to justice, dead or alive. But that choice I leave up to you." I responded.

"Male… Mithra..?" Was all he could manage to say.

I turned him around so he could get a look at me. I kept the sword locked to his neck. He seemed quite surprised to see me but he only glanced at me before his focus returned to the sword.

"Now don't interrupt me or my sword might flinch and taste your blood." I said as I began casting Teleport-Master. He stood very still as instructed. He obviously wasn't a stupid ranger. Just a little bit crazy. Okay well, little bit might, be an understatement. But at least he took instruction. A moment later we appeared at the gates to the GM headquarters.

The guards immediately took Snyper inside as I followed close behind. We were led into an office where the GM who spoke to me in private before was waiting. He took one look at Snyper.

"That's him. Take him away for trials." He said. The guards obediently carried out the orders. Once they had left the room the GM turned to me.

"Good job Gospel. You look a bit dusty but no injuries. You did well." He walked around his desk and approached me. "This is your reward. It will come in handy as you travel around Vana'diel."

He handed me a money pouch. I looked inside and found 500,000 Gil inside. I had never seen so much money in my life.

"But sir." I pleaded. "This is a lot of Gil."

"You'll understand soon enough. Many adventurers have been pushing prices for everything up lately. Oh I almost forgot. I met with the Duke of Jueno and convinced him to allow you to have this."

He handed me a ticket. It read:

----------

Airship Pass.

This pass allows Gospel to travel on the airships of Vana'diel.

Signed:

Kam'lanaut

Duke of Jueno

----------

Not even a full day outside of the village and I already get to ride on airships. I couldn't contain my excitement. The GM could tell I was excited too. He smiled to me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"I have one more thing to give to you." He said as he handed me a small black box. I opened it up. "That is the true sign of an adventurer, a friend list. It allows you to contact and be contacted by others. We will be using this when we need you for another job. Now go out into the world Gospel. Start your new life as an adventurer. But please don't tell anybody you are working for us. You will already draw enough attention to yourself for being a male Mithra. Please enjoy the world and have fun. You will hear from us again soon."

I saluted him. He saluted back then turned back to his desk. I left his office with a huge smile on my face. As I headed for the exit I took out the piece of paper with Lynx's contact details and put them into my friend list. It was an easy system to use. I then sent her a message.

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Lynx, its Gospel. I've become an adventurer. I can't believe it. Can we meet somewhere there are so many things I want you to show and teach me about Vana'diel.

----------

I got a message back almost immediately.

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Oh my god! That's great Gos! Meet me in Jueno. I'll take you everywhere and teach you everything you could ever want to know. I'm so happy they let you stay here. See you soon !

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I smiled at her response. I had reached the exit to the headquarters. The sun shone brightly on my face. I could finally step into the outside world a free cat. I could see the horizon and a city not too far away. I checked my map and sure enough, it was Jueno. I stood for a moment admiring the majestic city from afar. Every adventure starts with a single step and this was mine. Without looking back, I took off for the city at full speed. I couldn't wait to meet with Lynx and to start my new life. The life of an adventurer.

End

**The legal stuff: **© Gospel Fanfic Industries. All rights reserved.

Final Fantasy XI is a product of Square Enix Co., LTD

This is a fanfic and in no way portrays the actual gaming experience of

FFXI. Although we can always hope that one day it will.


End file.
